The present invention relates to a backup method and a storage control device using the same. In recent years, with extended service hours provided by ATMs and the growth of various on-line services such as Internet banking, there has been a demand for corporate information systems to operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. As a result, backups and virus checks of data stored in storage devices, e.g., hard disks, are important in these information systems due to the possibility of unexpected system interruptions such as hardware malfunctions or virus infections.
An example of a technology relating to backups and virus checking is described in Japanese laid-open patent publication number Hei 11-134234. Therein, a backup device determines the consistency of the source file for the backup copy by using a means such as virus checking. If the files are found to be consistent, a backup copy is generated from the original file. The technology disclosed in this publication prevents situations where a restored backup copy of an original file cannot be used because the original file was damaged or infected with a virus. As a result, unexpected system interruptions are avoided.